Updated September 16

The Tourism Minister and the Film Commissioner on Friday said that a study they commissioned into a cash rebate system "factually confirms" that it helps Malta's economy, but refused to publish the document. 

In a press conference on Friday, Clayton Bartolo and Johann Grech said economists found that last year, the Maltese economy gained €3 euro for every €1 spent in cash rebates for film productions.

But both said they would not be making the study public or giving journalists a copy, citing legal advice. 

An executive summary will be issued "eventually," Grech said.

The minister and film commissioner held the press conference two days after the National Audit Office confirmed that it has started probing the Film Commission's cash rebate scheme.

Earlier this summer, Bartolo repeatedly promised reporters the government would release a financial study containing the Film Commission's expenditure and return on investment in the film industry by the end of September.

Similarly, he had also promised to publish a detailed financial report with last year's expenditure for the controversial Malta Film Awards - another report he ended up never publishing. Instead, he released information about the total cost of the broader Malta Film Week event. 

The Film Commission has even gone to court to avoid having to divulge the how much it paid British celebrity David Walliams to star at those awards, despite the Information and Data Protection Commissioner having ordered it to provide that information to the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation.

The Film Commission has asked the courts to annul that ruling. 

Asked how much another local film festival, last June's Mediterrane Film Festival cost, Bartolo said that report is still not finished and will be out "as soon as possible".

In July, Bartolo had repeatedly promised reporters the report would be published by the end of September. He declined to commit to that deadline on Friday.

Friday's press conference sought to push back against a recent controversy over the amount of taxpayer money that the government is funnelling to large, foreign film and TV productions.

Last month, Times of Malta revealed that through a 40 per cent cash rebate scheme, the government will have given more than €143 million in taxpayer money to different films and series in five years. The Gladiator sequel alone will have sucked €47 million of that amount.

While Malta has offered a cash rebate scheme to film productions since 2015, the scheme was significantly expanded in 2019. Now, spending on cast and crew from all around the world is eligible for the rebate and productions can also claw back up to €5 million spent for salaries for main actors, producers and directors.

Bartolo and Grech said Malta could only afford to hand out big rebates like those because it made so much more money in return from the industry.

"And we will continue to do so. The cash rebate is here to stay," Bartolo said. 

Jessica Camilleri and Dustin Chodorowicz gave technical briefings to the media. Photo: Jonathan Borg

Economic breakdown

During the press conference, economist Jessica Camilleri delivered a short, fairly technical presentation on the findings of the economic impact study.

She said that last year, productions collectively spent €72.7 million, which then translated into a gross value added of €93.8 million.

Camilleri said that in 2022, Malta had spent €31.3 million in cash rebates for 24 productions - meaning investment led to a 3x multiplier effect. The government also earned 14c in tax for every €1 spent in rebates. 

Malta is expected to more than double its spending on cash rebates this year, in large part due to a €47 million payment owed to Gladiator sequel producers.

In January Bartolo had said the film industry generated €85 million in the Maltese economy last year, but that figure was not mentioned on Friday.

When asked by Times of Malta to clarify how much of the money spent by productions was spent directly in Maltese companies and individuals, and how much of it was paid to foreign companies and individuals, Grech and Bartolo would not say.

Instead, Grech said the study - which he declined to make public - was "clear" on the matter. 

The economists who spoke did not address that specific issue, which has been the main bone of contention for most concerned local film-makers.

"Today's story is one is to three," Film Commissioner Johann Grech said. Photo: Jonathan Borg

Bartolo said that for every €1 spent in rebates, the Maltese economy was gaining €3.

"That means €3 is being left in the economy - we made sure to calculate specifically what was left in the Maltese economy," he said.

Top industry insiders have recently told Times of Malta they are worried that the 40 per cent rebate does not necessarily mean that the rest of the 60 per cent is left in the Maltese economy because big productions spend millions in salaries to high-end foreign crew and Hollywood actors and to rent equipment and services from foreign companies and individuals, even while they shoot in Malta.

But on Friday Bartolo insisted that no production was clawing back more cash in rebates than it was spending directly in Malta.

Grech said the rebate system is "the only way Malta can remain competitive" and attractive enough for foreign investment. Bad publicity could scare away big-budget films, he said. 

"What do you prefer? That Gladiator is shot in Rome instead of in Malta? That Napoleon is shot in France instead of here?" Grech said.

Last month, Grech accused those questioning the rebate scheme and its transparency as perpetuating an "attack on Malta". 

In her economic presentation, Camilleri said the local film industry sustained the full-time equivalent of 1,772 jobs last year. Of those working in the sector, 78 per cent were local and 22 were foreign, with 65 per cent of total production hours worked by local crew. 

Camilleri said the local industry has seen a relatively significant increased rate of growth and this is thanks to the effects of cash incentives and Malta's inherent characteristics that make it an attractive destination.

The multiplier effect of one is to three will also contribute to creating more demand "and the cycle continues", she said.

Dustan Chodorowicz from Nordicity, an international company specialising in economic strategy for the creative industries, said the film industry generates work and wealth from diverse industries by procuring all sorts of materials, products and services, while also generating jobs for people in a myriad of industries, such as accounting, catering, hair and make-up, and so on.

Dustan Chodorowicz from Nordicity, an international company specialising in economic strategy for the creative industries - a company that also advises the Malta Film Commission. Photo: Jonathan Borg

Nordicity advises the Malta Film Commission on the way forward to implement its vision and strategy for the industry.

He described Malta's vision as "bold".

Film Commissioner Johann Grech said the study confirms the industry is not just sustainable, but it is also a great motor in the economy and is sustaining hospitals, pensions and education.

"Some people told us we were unfairly taking away money that could be spent on medicine to give it to Hollywood. Today it has been proven that it is not true. We are our economy's energy."

He said that critics of the cash rebate were levelling attacks at Maltese people's jobs and companies without having the professional economic facts to back them up.

"Had it not been for Napoleon, 500 Maltese crew would have been registering for work," he said. "Had it not been for Gladiator, another 650 crew would be registering for work and more than a thousand extras would not be engaged."

He also hinted the cash rebate might actually be increased, but did not give further details about it.

"And if the cash rebate is increased, that means the economy would have gained three times as much the amount we invested," he said.

 "We are prepared to fill Malta with films once again once the strikes are over. Be prepared, because we will not stop halfway," he said, echoing Joseph Muscat's 2017 election cry.

Clayton Bartolo said he will be presenting the study to the Auditor General who is currently probing the Film Commission's expenditure. Photo: Jonathan Borg

Clayton Bartolo said he would be presenting the study to the NAO, which is currently probing the Film Commission's expenditure.